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Violent Games Legislation Introduced to US Congress

Yesterday, President Barack Obama outlined a series of plans to help stem the growing tide of violence in the United States, including a series of autonomous executive orders and a set of legislative suggestions to Congress. As we pointed out when examining Obama’s speech, gaming (and the media sphere generally) were largely ignored, with the exception of a $10 million study – which Congress may never pass – examining the effect of violent media on America’s youth.

But in the United States, it’s Congress’s role to create laws and legislation, and Utah Democrat Jim Matheson has done just that. With the 113th United States Congress freshly sworn-in, the legislative maelstrom has begun unabated with H.R. 287, entitled the “Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act”.

At first glance, this may seem confusing since the ESRB has been rating games in the United States for nearly two decades. However, the ESRB is entirely voluntary and self-regulating; this legislation, in essence, would make the ESRB the law of the land. “It shall be unlawful for any person to ship or otherwise distribute in interstate commerce, or to sell or rent, a video game that does not contain a rating label, in a clear and conspicuous location on the outside packaging of the video game, containing an age-based content rating determined by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.”

Should this legislation be brought up for a vote and pass unamended through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it would give the Federal Trade Commission 180 days to “promulgate rules requiring all retail establishments engaged in the sale of video games to display, in a clear and conspicuous location, information about the content rating system of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.”

Specifically, “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or rent, or attempt to sell or rent (1) any video game containing a content rating of “Adults Only”… to any person under the age of 18; or (2) any video game containing content rating of “Mature”… to any person under the age of 17.”

Breaking this proposed law wouldn’t result in a criminal charge; rather, it would result in a civil penalty of upwards of $5,000 per transgression.

Interestingly, The Hill points out “that video games are protected under the First Amendment,” citing a 2011 decision derived from contention over a California law in which Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “Like the protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas – and even social messages… No doubt a state possesses legitimate power to protect children from harm… but that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.”

In other words, if this law were to pass, it’s likely to go before the Supreme Court, and if the court’s decision from two years ago is any indication, the law would be nullified.
We’ll keep you updated on further developments.

Of course it would be some douchebag from Utah to do this. But Obama didn't help matters by citing it specifically, either. **** dozens of studies done on this very topic, right? Who care that SCIENCE found little-to-no correlation. Just gotta do it anyways. ****ing *******s...

If I could take your pain and frame it, and hang it on my wall,
maybe you would never have to hurt again...

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let California regulate the sale or rental of violent video games to children, saying governments do not have the power to "restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed" despite complaints about graphic violence.

On a 7-2 vote, the high court upheld a federal appeals court decision to throw out the state's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento had ruled that the law violated minors' rights under the First Amendment, and the high court agreed.

"No doubt a state possesses legitimate power to protect children from harm," said Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion. "But that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed."

The California law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. Retailers who violated the act would have been fined up to $1,000 for each infraction.

More than 46 million American households have at least one video-game system, with the industry bringing in at least $18 billion in 2010.

Unlike depictions of "sexual conduct," Scalia said there is no tradition in the United States of restricting children's access to depictions of violence, pointing out the violence in the original depiction of many popular children's fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and Snow White.

The answer is obvious: ban Snow White. After that, ban Catcher in the Rye. Then Jodie Foster. Also The Beggar's Opera.

Not to mention pretty much all of Shakespeare. Just in Hamlet there are several ghastly murders, more than a hint of Oedipus Complex, the open contemplation of suicide (which thousands of children are forced to memorize every year), and a scene where the main character holds up a skull and talks about the friendly bag of meat who used to use it.

I remember when I was like 9 I saw this episode of Power Rangers and it was crazy. Im talking people throwing spears from outer space, sword fights, heavy machinery battles, you name it. My parents even got me the Power Rangers movie when it came out. Zordon, a cripple mind you, was severely injured and almost killed in that gore fest of a movie.

I honestly blame Power Rangers for morphing me into the twisted person I am today.

I remember when I was like 9 I saw this episode of Power Rangers and it was crazy. Im talking people throwing spears from outer space, sword fights, heavy machinery battles, you name it. My parents even got me the Power Rangers movie when it came out. Zordon, a cripple mind you, was severely injured and almost killed in that gore fest of a movie.

I honestly blame Power Rangers for morphing me into the twisted person I am today.

I know what you mean. In the first Herbie movie a bad guy cuts Herbie in half and he finally comes apart right near the end of the race, finishing both in first and third place.